THIS invention relates to an apparatus for use in the drying of grain and more particularly but not exclusively, to a grain storage bag having grain drying capabilities.
In the specification the term grain should be interpreted to include a variety of harvested crops that are found in agriculture, including but not limited to cereal grains, grain legumes and oilseeds.
Grain drying, as used in this specification, refers to the removal of some of the moisture from grain by mechanically moving air through the grain after it has been harvested. Grain in the field dries naturally as the crop matures, giving up moisture to the air until the grain moisture is in equilibrium with the moisture in the air. However, grain often needs to be dried even further after harvesting before it can be delivered to the market. If no drying facility is available the harvesting process may come to a standstill, which in turn adversely influences production cost and the planting of a next batch of crop.
A number of grain drying methods and apparatuses have been proposed in the past, and include drying floors, bin-type dryers, drying wagons and drying cribs and solar dryers. However, these methods all have disadvantages associated therewith, including the high capital cost of the drying facilities, the complicated nature of some of the drying facilities, and the limited control associated with some of the drying facilities.
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an apparatus for use in drying grain that will, at least partially, alleviate the above disadvantages.
It is also an object of the invention to provide an apparatus for drying grain which will be a useful alternative to existing grain drying facilities.